Page 6 - Collections of the TU Dresden [Office for Academic Heritage]

I N T R O D U C T I O N

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With its 40 technical and scientific collections as well as important
post-war examples of Saxon art, the TU Dresden has a large and unique
collection of both historical and current objects related to teaching,
research and art. Most of the collections stem from the academic
canon and technical subjects and constitute material evidence of
scientific and scholarly activity, featuring visual aids and experimental
research objects. Some of the items were collected in the early years,
just after the Technical School was founded in 1828 and are today
important cultural assets of the university, while other collections have
only emerged in recent years as a result of current academic curricula.
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Maintaining a connection with the various disciplines and associated
scientific contexts is still central to the TU Dresden’s collection prin-
ciples. Without the commitment of the collection managers and their
mostly voluntary work, preserving the holdings for use in digitisation
and research projects would not be possible.
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As a central institution, the Office for Academic Heritage, Scientific
and Art Collections (OAH) supports the faculties, professors and their
collection managers in preserving and cataloguing collections accord -
ing to topics related to university and academic history. However, the
objects from these very different research and teaching contexts are
not only to be understood as material witnesses of the TU Dresden's
history, but are above all a valuable resource for collection-related
research, teaching and scholarly communication. In order to promote
this potential, broad public perception that reaches beyond the bound-
aries of academic disciplines is required, which we as OAH would like
to support. This booklet is intended to serve as an initial guide through

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